With the advent of mobile devices, software applications (or “apps”) are frequently distributed as self-contained application packages that are easy to install and uninstall. For instance, applications for the ANDROID platform are distributed in the ANDROID Application Package (APK) format, while the WINDOWS 8.x and 10 platforms use the APPX and XAP formats, and the IOS platform uses the IOS App Store Package (IPA) format. Packages include metadata that enable a package manager to carry out package installation, upgrading, configuring, and uninstallation.
Older software applications for MICROSOFT WINDOWS are referred to as Win32 applications. These applications were developed for older application programming interfaces (APIs) used in WINDOWS prior to WINDOWS 8 and may still be supported in current versions of WINDOWS. Win32 applications predate the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) APIs, and thus are not deployed using the APPX or XAP package formats. These applications have frequently been distributed a variety of installation processes, including some with no formal installation process. For example, Win32 applications can be distributed as ZIP files, self-extracting executable (EXE) files, or MICROSOFT Installer (MSI) files.
With the plethora of different formats and different installation processes, managing Win32 applications within an organization can be troublesome for system administrators. Administrators who are familiar with mobile device management and mobile device package managers are likely to grow frustrated with the numerous issues relating to managing Win32 applications.